{our best bites} easy lemon sugar cookies

Thank you OUR BEST BITES for another delicious recipe! I got their email in my inbox and knew I had to try them. These are delicious! Lightly lemon-flavored, chewy yet soft, a sure win!

Recipe & Picture courtesy of Our Best Bites

Easy Lemon Sugar Cookies

Yields 24

Light, delicate, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with a hint of lemon, these super-easy lemon sugar cookies don't require any chilling, rolling, or cutting!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. 2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon table salt
5. 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
6. 2 ounces full-fat cream cheese
7. 6 tablespoons butter, melted and still warm
8. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
9. 1 large egg
10. Zest of 1 small lemon
11. 1 tablespoon whole milk
12. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment sheets and set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Place the 1 1/3 cups sugar and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using a metal whisk, stir until combined. Pour the melted butter over the mixture, then add the vegetable oil, egg, lemon zest, milk, and lemon juice. Whisk until combined. Stir in the flour mixture with a silicone spatula until the dough is cohesive and smooth (it will be very moist.)
4. Using a standard cookie scoop (which is 1 1/2 tablespoons), generously scoop the dough (you want about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and roll into the reserved sugar. Evenly space 12 cookie balls on the sheet and repeat with the other baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle cookies with remaining sugar. Bake for 6 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until set around the edges. Repeat with the second pan. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack.

By Our Best Bites

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

18 minute cake

This is one of those recipes from my childhood. I remember having this at just about every church activity I ever went to. Years later, I've thought about it and never made it for my family. I HAD to try it out and see if it held up to all those memories. Luckily, it did!

18 minute cake
(Old favorites from the heart of the Columbia Basin, by Aunt EvaLu)

Sift together in large bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt

Boil in a saucepan, then pour over sifted mixture:
4 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. margarine/butter
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. vegetable oil

Then add:
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla extract

Bake 18 minutes @ 400* in a flat jelly roll pan (I used a rimmed cookie sheet). Don't overbake. Some ovens may not require 18 minutes.

FROSTING:
1/2 c. margarine/butter
6 T. milk
4 T. cocoa powder
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract

Boil margarine, milk and cocoa. Add 1 cup nuts (optional), powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread on cake while hot.


One of the things I love about this cake, other than the DOUBLE chocolate factor is the moistness it has. It is SO so yummy. When  I made it this time it came out perfectly! My family liked it, but Jackson LOVED it like I do. Yesss!

Sabrina's PB frosting

I LOVE PB frosting! How did I go 20 years and never have had it before! My life was so incomplete! :P Luckily, I've had it many many times now. It's a tricky thing though; some recipes are hard to write down because they're "off the cuff". This is one of those recipes, but I'm writing it down so I have a guideline of where to begin for next time. I want to recreate this all on my own and not have to wait to have it someplace else.

SABRINA'S PB FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4- 1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cream together sugar, butter, vanilla, and 1 T. milk. Mixture will be stiff.
2. Then add PB. Add more milk or PB or sugar if needed to reach desired consistency and flavor.

Version 2:
Make regular buttercream frosting, then add 1 1/4 c. PB.

Moose Track Cookies

We were preparing for our summer vacation trip and I was looking for some "countdown to vacation" ideas. I found these Moose Track Cookies and thought they were pretty cute. I gave them a try, but I made my own variation. I combined this recipe and this recipe. Here's what I came up with.

MOOSE TRACK COOKIES
2 recipes combined by Me

TIP: When baking, it's important to lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cups and then level with a knife. It's particularly important in this recipe, directly scooping out the flour with a measuring cup will result in dry, crumbly dough.

Ingredients:
 1 c. real butter, no substitutes!
1 c. sugar
1 egg, extra large
1 1/2 t. almond extract (you could use vanilla instead- which I always use)
3 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. cocoa powder
1 t. butter, melted
Caramels, cut into small pieces (I used the Kraft caramel bites, like chocolate chip-sized)

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg and the extract and mix to incorporate.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
3. Divide the cookie dough into 2 parts. Mix the cocoa powder and butter. Add cocoa butter mixture for ONE of the cookie dough parts and mix in. Now chill your dough.
4. To make the chilling and cutting process easier, roll the dough 1/4" thick between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Lay the sheet of dough flat on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes or place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
5. Cut cookies in circles (I use one of my glass cups) and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. The cocoa sugar cookie dough should be cut with a smaller circle than the sugar cookie dough (I use a smaller glass cup). (The cocoa dough will be the hoof mark of the moose track cookie.) Cut the cocoa dough circles in half. Place about 4-5 caramel bits on top of the sugar cookie and press down slightly. Then, place the cocoa halves on top of the caramel bits.
6.  Bake in preheated 350* oven for 8-12 minutes on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet. For soft cookies, bake 8-10 minutes or until just set. For lightly crisp cookies, bake 10-13 minutes, or unti the edges are golden brown. If you're making large cookies, or ones with small parts or heavy frosting, you wil want to be careful because they might break when they're super soft,
7. When the desired doneness is reached, allow to cool on the pans for about 5 minutes and then transfer to the cooling racks and let the cookies cool completely. 

Yield: 3 dozen 2-3" cookies

{our best bites} Berry-kiwi salad with mint-lime dressing

Seeing as we've been TRYING to eat better, healthier, less-processed foods I was worried about Easter coming up and all the sweets that naturally accompany it. I was so excited to try this recipe as our healthy, yet sweet dessert option. We really liked this! All the kids and adults gobbled it down and I think I'll be bringing it to every family gathering and celebration. It was nice and sweet and GUILT-FREE!

Light, fresh, and easy, this fruit salad comes together in minutes and is an elegant addition to any baby or wedding shower, Mothers Day brunch or Saturday morning breakfast.

BERRY-KIWI SALAD WITH MINT-LIME DRESSING

Ingredients:

1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice (1-2 limes)

2 1/2 T honey

1 T finely chopped fresh mint leaves

3/4 t poppyseeds

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 c blackberries (or raspberries, I don't like the seeds from the blackberries)

1 c blueberries 

1 c kiwi, cut into 1/4" pieces

Directions:

1. Whisk together lime juice, honey, mint leaves, and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Gently toss berries and kiwi together in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle dressing over the fruit and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately. 

*Note: Strawberries aren't quite in season yet so I cut them up first, put a little sugar on them and let them sit and macerate. Right before we were ready to eat I mixed in the fruit and dressing. It was delicious.

I doubled this recipe for our Easter dinner of 13 and had just a couple servings left. I will probably always at LEAST double this if not triple or more. I think this will probably be my "go-to" dish for all get togethers this summer and whenever else. It was a BIG HIT and so good for you! Hooray!

devilishly good chocolate cake

I have tried a few different recipes from my "The Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook and they have all been wonderful. I was thinking about it and I haven't tried any chocolate cake recipes from here, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was sure they'd be wonderful and fool-proof. And they delivered! They are so very yummy and chocolatey and moist. Write this one down!

Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

Recipe from: the Cake Mix Doctor

Ingredients:

1 square (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 c. water

1 package (18.25 oz) plain devils food cake mix

1 package (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix

4 large eggs

3/4 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. vegetable oil (I used canola oil)

2 t. pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Pan Frosting (see below)
*I actually used my cream cheese frosting recipe because I LOVE cream cheese frosting.

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 12 cup bundt pan with nonstick spray, the dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set pan aside.

2. Cupcakes? Fill 2 cupcake pans with cupcake papers and set aside. 

3. Place the chopped chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until the chocolate is melted, 3-4 minutes.  Set aside.

4. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the melted chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2-3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or muffin cups), smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan(s) in the oven.

5. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 45-50 minutes. (Cupcakes: 19-22 minutes.) Remove the pan(s) from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack to complet cooing, 20 minutes more.

6. Meanwhile, prepare your frosting. This recipe recommends the Chocolate Pan Frosting. (See below). Transfer the cake to a serving platter and spread the warm frosting over the cooled cake with clean, smooth strokes. Let the frosting set for 20 minutes, then slice and serve. 

Note: Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 4 days. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil for 4-6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving. 

Chocolate Pan Frosting

This is a simple cooked chocolate frosting, perfect for brownies, layer cakes, and chocolate sheet cakes. 

Yield: 4 cups, enough to frost a 2 or 3 layer cake

Ingredients:

8 T (1 stick) butter

4 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 c whole milk

4 c powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cocoa powder and milk. Let the mixture come just to a boil, stirring, and the remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the powdered sugar until the frosting is thickened and smooth. 

2. Pour the warm frosting over the top of a cooled cake of your choice, spreading it with a spatula so that it reaches all sides of the cake. Work quickly because this frosting goes on best while still warm. 

dark chocolate sea salt caramel pretzel bark

It's about that time of year when I make a bunch of cookies and goodies and we, as a family, make some special deliveries with said goodie plates. I came across this recipe and KNEW I had to try it. I'm glad I did. Write this one down and make it again. It's a keeper! Thanks melskitchencafe.com!

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel Bark

INGREDIENTS

Caramel:
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cream, divided (you'll use half at the beginning and the other half later on)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Other:
• 8 ounces pretzel twists (half of a regular 16-ounce bag)
• 12 ounces chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate, divided
• Sea salt for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. For the caramel, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the butter, salt, corn syrup, sugar and 1/2 cup cream. Set the pot over medium-low heat and gently melt the ingredients until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted (don't rush this step by cranking up the heat).
2. Increase the heat just slightly to bring the mixture to a simmer. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and simmer on medium-low (or whatever temperature needed to maintain at a simmer without burning) without stirring until the caramel reaches 236 degrees.
3. Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup cream and again, without stirring, cook the mixture until it reaches 245-248 degrees on the candy thermometer. Off the heat, swirl in the vanilla.
4. Let the caramel rest for 10-15 minutes before using.
5. Meanwhile, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Melt 8 ounces of the chocolate gently in the microwave or in a double boiler until smooth (don't overheat or it will seize or bloom, which is when it gets the white, grainy streaks throughout). Spread the chocolate evenly over the parchment. Before it sets while still wet, sprinkle about 8 ounces of the pretzel twists over the top. It's ok if the pretzel twists are overlapping a bit. Gently press them into the chocolate (the caramel will act as the glue that keeps everything together).
7. Once the caramel has cooled just slightly, drizzle it across the top of all the pretzels. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips (or chopped baking chocolate, if using) over the warm caramel and let it sit until the chocolate melts (alternately, you can let the caramel harden and set and then melt the remaining chocolate and drizzle over the top). Once the chocolate has melted, spread lightly with a knife or thin metal spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt. Let rest until the chocolate on top has hardened.
8. Tear or cut into pieces to give as gifts or to eat (be careful not to devour the entire batch!).

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

campfire cones

I found this recipe online and thought it looked like a GENIUS idea. I tried it out on our cabin trip and they were yummy; they just needed to bake longer than I expected (20+ minutes).

Read more about them here-
Campfire Cones filled with your favorite s’more ingredients can be made on the grill, in the oven, or heated over a campfire! If you haven’t tried Campfire Cones before, you my friend, are missing out! Don’t let the name deceive you either, you do NOT need a campfire to make these fun s’mores-like treats! Campfire Cones can be made on the grill and in the oven in addition to the option to heat them over a campfire.

Recipe & pic found in the link below-
Campfire Cones

Prep Time: 5mn
Cook Time: 7mn
Total Time: 12mn 

INGREDIENTS 
Ice Cream Cones 
Aluminum foil 
Favorite s’mores toppings: 
peanut butter, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, etc. 

DIRECTIONS
 Line each cone with peanut butter if you wish. 
Fill with your favorite toppings, I used chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. 
Wrap each cone tightly with foil.
Oven directions: Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes. 
Grill directions: Place on a heated grill for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally. 
Campfire directions: Heat the foil-wrapped cones over a campfire for about 3-5 minutes, or until the chocolate and marshmallows have melted.

Recipe: http://centercutcook.com/campfire-cones/

{Elana's pantry} flour less nut-free brownies

In an effort to eat better and healthier I tried out this recipe for some "healthy brownies". Although they are much more dense than I'm used to, hubby and I were pleasantly surprised at how good they taste. Put one in a bowl, warm it up for 15 seconds and pour a little milk over top...healthy brownie heaven. :)

Note: Yes, some of the ingredients are obscure, but they're becoming more widely available at most grocery stores. You can always order them on amazon.com. ;) And yes these ingredients are a little spendier than the usual ingredients...that's why they're SOMETIMES treats.

Flourless nut-free brownies

From Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry

1 c dark chocolate chips

1/4 c Spectrum all-vegetable shortening

1 c coconut sugar

4 large eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8" square baking dish with shortening,

2. In a medium saucepan over very low heat, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat, then mix in the shortening and coconut sugar. Stir in th eggs and vanilla extract until thoroughly combine. 

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

4. Let the brownies cool in the baking dish for 1 hours. Cut into 16 squares and serve (preferably warmed up in the microwave for 20 seconds then pour a little milk over top- it hits the spot!).

Strawberry Cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting

I love these "semi-homemade" cakes that take a box mix and doctor it up to DELICIOUS! This was one of those- pretty and pink and very moist. Good flavor. I think I prefer it to my previous Strawberry Cupcakes. Enjoy!

Cake ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) plain white cake mix (not the one with the pudding in the mix)

1 pkg (3oz) strawberry gelatin

1 c mashed strawberries with juice (1 1/2 c whole berries)

1 c vegetable oil

1/2 c while milk

4 large eggs

1 c frozen unsweetened grated, coconut, thawed

1/2 c chopped pecans 

Frosting ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

8 T (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted

3/4 c fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped and mashed to make 1/2 c then drained well (do NOT substitute for FROZEN strawberries- your frosting turns out too runny)

1/2 frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed no thank you

1/2 c chopped pecans  no thank you

Cake directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350*. Lightly grease three 9" round cake pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes or more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Fold in the coconut and pecans.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven; if your oven is not large enough, place 2 pans on the center rack and place the third in the cent of the highest rack.

4. Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28-30 minutes. Be careful not to overlook the layer on the highest oven rack. 

5. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each into a rack, then invert again into another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.  

Frosting directions:

1. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the sugar and drained strawberries. Blend the for stoning on low until the sugar has been incorporated. Then raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting another minute or until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Fold in the coconut and pecans.

Assembly directions:

1. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Add another cake layer, right side up and frost the top. 

2. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides,working with clean, smooth strokes. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving. 

Note: place this cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze, it wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving. 

{our best bites} white chocolate raspberry cheesecake

HOLY TOLEDO! This was the best cheesecake I've ever made AND the best white chocolate raspberry cheesecake I've ever tasted! It was PHENOMENAL! It has a wonderfully smooth texture and perfect combination of flavors. This is another NEW FAVORITE recipe from Our Best Bites "Savoring the Seasons" cookbook.

And it turned out beautiful!!! I was SO pleased!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Raspberry sauce-
12 oz. frozen unsweetened raspberries (about 3 c.)
1/2 c. sugar
3 T. water, divided
1 T. corn starch

Crust-
2 1/2 c. chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 25 cookies, such as Oreos)
6 T. butter, melted

Cheesecake-
1 c. white chocolate chips
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
3 large eggs, at room temp
1 t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla extract
2 T. flour
3/4 c. sour cream

fresh raspberries, for garnish
white chocolate curls, for garnish

Directions:
1. For the sauce: Place frozen berries, sugar and 2 T. water in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir occasionally, mashing berries with your spoon, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 5 minutes. Combine remaining 1 T. water with corn starch in a small bowl and then add mixture to sauce. Stirring constantly, allow to simmer 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds. Set aside. This sauce can be made several days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

2. For the crust: Combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom and 1" up the sides of a 10" springform pan.

3. Preheat oven to 350*.

4. For the cheesecake: Place the white chocolate chips ina microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

5. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a separate mixing bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts, flour,  and sour cream and beat just until combined. With the mixer running, add the melted white chocoate in a steady stream and mix just until incorporated.

6. Pour half the cream cheese mixture over the cookie crust and spread evenly. Drizzle 2 T. raspberry sauce over the top and use a knife to swirl the sauce into the filling. Pour remaining filling on top and drizzle another 2 T. raspberry sauce over the top. Use a knife to swirl the sauce.

7. Place the springform pan on top of 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Wrap the foil up the sides of the pan to prevent water from leaking into the pan. Place the foil-wrapped pan into a larger shallow pan, such as a large roasting pan, and place in the oven. Pour enough hot water into the larger pan to reach about 2/3 up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake 70-80 minutes or until the cheesecake is set on top and very lightly golden around the edges. Cheesecake should have a slight jiggle when gently shaken.

8. Remove both pans from the oven and let cheesecake sit in the water bath for 30 minutes. Remove the springform pan from the water and remove the foil. Place the pan on a cooling rack until cooled to room temp. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

9. When ready to serve, gently remove the sides from the springform pan and cut cake into 10-12 slices. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce drizzled on top and garnish with fresh berries and white chocolate curls, if desired.

Favorite Christmas treats

Probably everyone has certain foods they associate with various occasions, including holidays such as Christmas.

These babies are one of the treats I look forward too at Christmas.  My parents have been spoiling us with these the past few years and I love it! They are so wonderful and creamy and just heavenly. I love love love these little nuggets of happiness. :)

Here are some of the other goodies we've made this holiday season-
easy reindeer cookies
Fluffernutter Fudge
Caramel-Chocolate Squares
Turtle Graham Bars
Congo Bars
Orange Sweet Rolls
O Christmas Tree Munch Mix
Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Peanut Blossoms
Italian Sodas

As happy as I am to get back to eating healthier, I sure do love my sweets! :) We had a DELICIOUS holiday season! I hope you and your's did too!

{obb} easy Reindeer cookies

Our Best Bites is one of my FAVORITE cooking blogs to follow. They posted this little treat and I thought it looked cute and simple, yet tasty, so we tried it out!

Easy Reindeer Cookies

Ingredients:
Nutter Butter cookies
M&Ms
Pretzels
Frosting or pre-made cookie icing, if you're taking the EASY way out ;)

Here's our "cookie making station". The big kids loved doing this ALL by themselves.

Looks good! Nice job!

O Christmas tree munch mix

I was excited to try this SUPER EASY snack mix. No melting chocolate or other toppings, just mix and done!

It has a nice mix of sweet and salty and the whole family really liked it!

(I couldn't find the Christmas tree candy corns so I used on Sweet Tart Gummy Trees instead. Still yummy!)

{cinnabon's frosting clone} cream cheese frosting

Thank you Pinterest! for helping me find this recipe! I LOVE cream cheese frosting and this is delicious! This recipe comes from allrecipes.com

Cream Cheese Frosting - for cinnamon rolls
Yield: frosting for 12 rolls, or a single batch

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/8. t salt

Directions:
1. Beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. 
2. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

*Note: When I make cinnamon rolls, which is possibly 2-3 times per year, I make them in large quantities, so I usually 2-3xs this recipe to have enough frosting. I even had some leftover- good thing I know where the spoons are. ;) YUMMY!

{our best bites} hot fudge sauce

Our Alivia is not a big CAKE eater, so for her birthday, she requested my Mud Pie in place of cake. I did the same thing for my 8th birthday! Keeping the tradition alive. ;)

 I tried this Hot Fudge recipe from Our Best Bites for the hot fudge portion of my mud pie. It was PHENOMENAL!  I'm keeping this one!

Recipe & picture from Our Best Bites

Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:
3oz semi-sweet chocolate* (3 squares of baking chocolate, or about 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C butter
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

*I wouldn’t use milk chocolate for this, it’s way too sweet, however both dark and bittersweet are awesome.


Instructions:
1. If you’re using baking squares, chop them up into small pieces so they melt easier. I chop the butter up into small chunks too.
2. Okay, it’s not rocket science. Put everything in a pan on medium heat and melt it all together till it’s smooth, creamy, and just looking at it gives you happy thoughts.

3. If you have leftovers (but let’s be honest, you’ll have to quadruple the recipe to have leftovers) then put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will harden into a soft, gooey fudge like consistency. Then keep a spoon handy on the counter and dip it in every time you pass by. This serves the same purpose as the always-open bags of chocolate chips that Kate and I both have in our pantries. Don’t deny it Kate. << These girls and I have so much in common. ;)

{our best bites} apple cider floats

I found this yummy new drink in my Savoring the Seasons cookbook. It has been added to our FALL foods rotation!

Recipe & Pic from Our Best Bites

Apple Cider Floats
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup ginger ale
2 scoops vanilla ice cream, or any seasonal flavor such as cinnamon or apple pie
ground cinnamon and nutmeg for sprinkling
1-2 tablespoons jarred caramel sauce, optional

Directions:
Pour apple cider and ginger ale into a glass.  Add vanilla ice cream.  Sprinkle on nutmeg and cinnamon to taste and drizzle caramel sauce on top.  Serve immediately with a straw and a spoon.

Yield: one serving in a tall glass

*If you want a snack-size or smaller portion, here's the ratios I use:
1/2 c. apple cider
1/4 c. ginger ale
1 scoop vanilla ice cream

ENJOY!! Such a tasty treat to find!

Mickey Mousse

One of our Disney World Countdown activities was to "Make Mickey Mousse." I found this Pinterest idea on Craftin' in the Rain.

Photo courtesy of Craftin' in the Rain

She uses this yummy & simple recipe from Our Best Bites, then makes her own Mickey Ears out of milk chocolate melting chocolate.

Mickey Mousse

Mousse recipe from Our Best Bites "Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake"

Ingredients:

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 Tbsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. boiling water (just heat it in a small bowl in your microwave)

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring 2 Tbsp. water to a boil in the microwave. Whisk into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Mickey Ears 

from Craftin' in the Rain 

Ingredients:

1 package melting milk chocolate

Directions:

1. To make the Mickeys, melt chocolate wafers in the microwave at half power then spoon into a plastic bag.  Snip a tiny hole in one corner and squeeze the chocolate Mickey shapes.  To keep them consistent, I printed some images off my computer and put the wax paper over the top so I could see through.  

2. I did the 2 ear circles, the head circle, and then just zig-zaggy lines to fill them in. 

3. Wait until they're completely cooled before trying to peel them off the paper.  And always make extras in case they break!  I would love to see these on top of cup cakes too :)  Top mousse with whipped cream and a chocolate Mickey.

Mickey Oreos

As part of our prepping for Disney World, we made these Mickey Oreos as a family one night. My inspiration came from A Little Tipsy. Super easy and definitely NOT professional looking, but nonetheless yummy.

Mickey Oreos

Ingredients:
1 package of Oreos
1 package of red melting chocolate (found mine @ Michael's)
1 package of melting milk chocolate
1 package of yellow or white COOKIE decorating frosting (found in the baking aisle @ the grocery store)

Directions:

1. Put a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets.
2. Pour red melting chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and follow directions on package. (Something like- heat for 30 seconds @ 50% and stir; continue warming in 30 second increments until smooth. Mine took about 1 1/2 minutes total).
3. Dip half of your oreo into melted red chocolate. Lay on prepared cookie sheet. Continue with all other oreos. 
4. Once your oreos are all half dipped you should be able to handle them to glue the ears (melting milk chocolate pieces) on with a dab of the cookie frosting. Add dots to red pants to finish off your Mickey Oreos. 
5. Chill until set and enjoy!

strawberry sauce

The boys and I went strawberry-picking on Thursday. I was planning to use the berries to make my Strawberry Syrup that we LOVE, but I hate having to strain the strawberries and get rid of all that yummy berry flesh, so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. It's another good one from Our Best Bites. It's also in their 1st cookbook.

I'm glad I tried it! It's delicious! It's wonderful on pancakes, over ice cream, add some to your yogurt, and I'm going to have to try making a strawberry milkshake with it too! Yummmmmy!

Strawberry Sauce

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract (OBB's favorite) or vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries, but I say you’re already feeling ambitious enough by making your own strawberry sauce. So don’t sweat it.
2. Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.
3. After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached 

Notes from Our Best Bites-
Wanna know what to do with it?
–Make banana splits with this and Sara’s hot fudge sauce
–Drizzle over plain ol’ cheesecake
–Spoon some over this ice cream, with or without the cinnamon (depending on how brave you’re feeling)
–I’m envisioning this sauce atop a pizzookie with sugar cookie dough and lemon ice cream
–My proudest use of strawberry sauce: mix a couple of tablespoons (depending on the size of the glass and your own personal taste) with this fresh-squeezed lemonade for strawberry lemonade. So so so so good…
–Chocolate waffles, anyone? If that’s not your thing, you could put them on your favorite French toast, waffles, or pancakes. Speaking of French Toast- try this one!
–Drizzle over angel food cake and add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

The cookbook recipe of this also says-
It stores well in the fridge for 1 month, or freeze for up to 3 months. I have about 5 c. of it in my freezer! What a tasty treat at my disposal!